We did a whole lot of just kicking around my dad’s Koreatown house, oohing and aahing over our dog Tucker and discussing in extreme detail the various home improvement projects they were considering undertaking together.

What a pair.

I also caught up on plenty of work. My dad always feels so guilty pulling long office hours when I’m in town, but it’s actually a blessing. I always get tons of blogging done when I’m in LA — with frequent breaks to swim laps and walk Tucker around the neighborhood, of course.

I also got to take in a few fun Alex in Wanderland meetings. One day, I drove to Santa Monica for a dog-friendly meeting with the lovely Zoe from Jucy Campers, while another, I made my way all the way down to Rancho Santa Margarita to meet with my friends at PADI.

So much of my business is conducted online, it’s a joy to get to do some of it face to face (and with my pup in tow).

And of course, my dad and I did some spontaneous enjoying of all the weird and wonderful things that make up Los Angeles. One day we stopped at the Taschen Gallery, which caught my attention with an eye-popping homage to one of my favorite sea creatures.

Another, we popped over to Los Feliz for a movie at the local theater. I didn’t love The Lobster, but I fell pretty crazy in love with this new close-by neighborhood to explore! Vintage theatre hopping has become my absolute favorite Los Angeles activity — after hanging out with Tucker, of course. (Believe it or not, we’ve even managed to scope out some dog-friendly ones I’ll cover in the future!)

I also joined some of my dad’s meetings and events — one night, drinks on a roofdeck with coworkers in Silverlake, and another, an awards event for the local medical association in Malibu. I always love getting a little peek into my smarty pants dad’s life!

I also got to hang out with some of my local LA friends, though I took… absolutely zero photos of these activities. I swear they happened though — blogger pinky promise! (Ha ha).

One night I got to check out Soho House in West Hollywood with my friends Diana and Lindsay and Asher, who are members — followed by a wild night of watching Zootopia at their house, because that’s just how we roll sometimes. And on my very last night in town, I went out for dinner with my friends Amy and Jordan, who had just moved to the West Coast (hot travel tip: get tipsy on margaritas before hopping on a red eye flight — you’ll sleep great!)

Mostly though I hung out with my BFF Tucker, who gives some serious side-eye to selfies, as I learned.

He also gives me a veeeery clear signal when he’s done with my enthusiastic puppy-shoots. Such a doggie diva!

Now I know what you’re thinking. Was this entire post an excuse to post cute pictures of my dog? Well yes, yes indeed it is.

I might not have done much for an eight day trip, but it really was a great one. As LA starts to feel less like an overwhelming new city and more like a West Coast HQ, I’m finding myself enjoying it more and more.

And good thing… because I still have two more trips to visit Tucker — er, back to LA — to recap!

Tucker is so adorable. While LA doesn’t pull at me the way other California cities do, I’m still intrigued by your coverage of it. It’s great to see more of an insider look at it. My only real desire to visit is so I can go to Disneyland (and that’s more of a check-off-all-Disney-parks bucket list item than an LA one). I do love how dog-friendly California seems to be!Marni recently posted..2017: What’s Next

Los Feliz is lovely. It was on my list of potential neighbourhoods when we were supposed to move to LA (maybe a tad expensive though in reality!) but then we ended up in Newport Beach. There is also an old theatre here. So cute.Joella recently posted..Traveling West Africa: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo

As you are discovering there is ‘everything’ here including really great people and perfect weather all year long. Your father looks quite content sitting by his pool as does your pooch.
Of course you know there are miles and miles of beaches but no drinks served in buckets 🙁

Once you can get deal with getting around, since there is no handy public transit, you are set. Uber and Lyft seem to be changing LA since you can also avoid parking hassles when getting about.

Yes! I would much rather Uber than deal with parking in LA — have done it many times, though for longer drives I prefer my own company so do drive. It has taken me a while to get used to the driving but you’re right, you just have to accept it!

omg Tucker might just be the cutest dog I’ve ever seen – that side eye though! Great insider view of LA aswell, very jealous you got to go to Soho House!!Rachel Clarke recently posted..My Favourite Places to Visit in the Algarve

Tucker said he’s actually dying to come to Tennessee with you in June and if you would please book him on the next Southwest flight out, he’ll meet you there.Kristin @ Camels & Chocolate recently posted..A Love Letter to New York City + the Plaza Hotel

Don’t worry, nobody minds lots of pictures of Tucker 😉 Also, LA seems like a cool place to spend a little time! I tend to dislike large cities, but staying with a local always makes the experience better

I love California – theres always something interesting around the corner. I loved exploring the Yosemite national park – being surrounded by such raw, imposing nature was truly an unforgettable experience. I´m glad you’ve made the most of your time with your dad – and Tucker too!

Alex, Tucker wishes to inform you he counted 32 photos in this post. His image appear in only 12. That is a less than a 50% ratio. He wants to speak with about this glaring oversight before agreeing to appear in a future posts.

I appear only 4 times which means Tucker has a 3 to1 favorability ratio over your own father, not that I jealous or anything……I am just say in’

I'm a New York native who left my home to explore the world slowly and thoroughly. I’m just a little obsessed with photography, scuba diving, and reading guidebooks to countries I have no immediate plans to visit.